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Small Yard Landscape Ideas

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Small Yard Landscape Ideas

Boost the Backyard Interest Sometimes the best small yard landscaping idea is mix it up with unexpected elements that offer dramatic visual relief. Here, the mixture of paving materials, lawn, hardscape, and container plantings adds enough interest to a small back yard garden that you hardly notice the landscape’s size. See our gallery of garden path ideas. Check out this front yard small-space landscaping plan.

Small Yard Landscape Ideas

Create Small Backyard Zones This small yard landscaping idea may seem contradictory, but we promise it works: Break up open areas of a small space so it feels larger. Here, different furniture groupings and paths divides a small backyard landscape into attractive and restful seating nooks. Add a garden in your yard with our free garden plans!

Small Yard Landscape Ideas

Create One-of-a-Kind Small-Space Vertical Features Create a sense of uniqueness with a series of small space landscape garden ideas. They’ll help your small garden landscape feel bigger. Espaliering is one trick that looks complicated, but is actually easier than you think, and elegant, too. Use it to dress up a plain shed or house wall in a small backyard. Learn more on creating garden rooms.

Small Yard Landscape Ideas

Sometimes the best small yard landscaping idea is mix it up with unexpected elements that offer dramatic visual relief. Here, the mixture of paving materials, lawn, hardscape, and container plantings adds enough interest to a small back yard garden that you hardly notice the landscape’s size.

Small Yard Landscape Ideas

Create a sense of uniqueness with a series of small space landscape garden ideas. They’ll help your small garden landscape feel bigger. Espaliering is one trick that looks complicated, but is actually easier than you think, and elegant, too. Use it to dress up a plain shed or house wall in a small backyard.

Small Yard Landscape Ideas

Design to Scale The key to making a big impact on a small footprint: design to scale. Here, a mix of wood and slate, married with plant materials of contrasting color but similar tones, creates four levels of interest in this small space. Choose the Best Plants This elegant small garden has been planted with dwarf and well-behaved conifers and other plants that won’t grow to overwhelm the site. Use the Rules of Perspective Designing the space around the rules of perspective — chiefly that parallel lines appear to converge to a “vanishing point” and objects in the distance appear smaller than those close by — can help make a small garden seem larger. Here, the pergola reinforces and frames the view, and the flower-filled container as a focal point in the middle distance draws the eye forward. Fool the Eye Creating a view along the diagonal of the property creates the illusion that the space is bigger than it looks. Here, the diagonal path with steps traces a zigzag line through the garden, providing areas to linger and enjoy the wide beds and colorful plantings. Design on a Diagonal The design-on-the-diagonal principle works on this tiny courtyard patio, where the tile pattern appears to elongate the dimensions. Remove the Clutter Space is at a premium in this urban garden, so designer Sam Joyce used the minimalist approach in this beautiful retreat. Built-in seating and just enough plants to make a statement keep the clutter down. Sam left room for additional chairs to be brought out from the house when necessary. Get Creative With Storage Designers Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri built a clever cut-out under the deck to store firewood. This smart storage solution frees up visible deck areas for seating and greenery. Create a Mixed Garden To grow fruits and veggies in a small yard, pitch out the concept of straight rows in one big garden, and cram your veggie garden in overlooked spaces or mix in with the landscaping, in raised beds and pots. Stonework or a bit of other hardscaping can turn the garden ornamental. Scale Down Garden Pots Rather than use one or two large planters, scale down the size of your pots. Several small containers can be used in a smaller space, either on the wall or on garden shelves. Take It Up the Wall Vertical planting increases the scale of a space. Here, trailing herbs and plants in wall pots give a Mediterranean look to this courtyard setting.

Landscaping Lessons Mike Eagleton is often asked to conjure miracles from small, cheek-to-jowl city lots. The Denver landscape designer’s own yard, around a 1929 brick cottage south of downtown, is a prime example of his professional sleight of hand. Within its 50 by 120 feet, he has incorporated sunny, street-side perennial beds, a private entry court in the rear, an elevated outdoor dining room, a secluded lounging terrace, a carpet of lawn, woodland views, a potting shed, and several destination strolls that lead to musical, spilling fountains. Front and back entrances, the latter marked by a wisteria arbor off the alley behind his property, make a garden walk of coming home. Almost year-round, despite his Zone 6 climate, with its frigid winters and baking summers, he’s got something in bloom—in pots and borders and on top of arbors. Shade trees blot out neighbors’ homes, and it’s easy to forget, when he and his wife and their teenage kids kick back outside, that they’re in a metropolis of 600,000 people. Shown: An arched wood gate to the left of the front entry opens onto a fountain that muffles street noise. The brick path leads from front yard to backyard.

Mike Eagleton is often asked to conjure miracles from small, cheek-to-jowl city lots. The Denver landscape designer’s own yard, around a 1929 brick cottage south of downtown, is a prime example of his professional sleight of hand. Within its 50 by 120 feet, he has incorporated sunny, street-side perennial beds, a private entry court in the rear, an elevated outdoor dining room, a secluded lounging terrace, a carpet of lawn, woodland views, a potting shed, and several destination strolls that lead to musical, spilling fountains. Front and back entrances, the latter marked by a wisteria arbor off the alley behind his property, make a garden walk of coming home. Almost year-round, despite his Zone 6 climate, with its frigid winters and baking summers, he’s got something in bloom—in pots and borders and on top of arbors. Shade trees blot out neighbors’ homes, and it’s easy to forget, when he and his wife and their teenage kids kick back outside, that they’re in a metropolis of 600,000 people. Shown: An arched wood gate to the left of the front entry opens onto a fountain that muffles street noise. The brick path leads from front yard to backyard.

Take Advantage of Foliage and Texture Big, bold tropical plants create a lush feel, especially in a small landscape. Their large leaves can change the scale of a small backyard to help it feel larger, and their unusual shape helps to boost the “cool” factor of the area. Want more? See our ideas for utilizing small spaces. Don’t miss our collection of free small-space garden plans!

This small yard landscaping idea may seem contradictory, but we promise it works: Break up open areas of a small space so it feels larger. Here, different furniture groupings and paths divides a small backyard landscape into attractive and restful seating nooks.

Long, straight lines trick you into thinking a small yard or small garden landscape is bigger than it is. To take full advantage of this illusion, subtly slant the far end of the lines toward one another and create a focal point. In this small backyard idea, a fence does the job and is enhanced by repeating rows of flowers and a pergola.

Use the Power of Perspective Long, straight lines trick you into thinking a small yard or small garden landscape is bigger than it is. To take full advantage of this illusion, subtly slant the far end of the lines toward one another and create a focal point. In this small backyard idea, a fence does the job and is enhanced by repeating rows of flowers and a pergola. Like this lawn? Get more inspiration with our Lawn Design Tips! Check out our lawn-care guide.

Create a View Here, a simple pergola creates gives this small garden landscaping a grand feel. Arbors and pergolas are lassic small yard landscaping odeas and great ways to frame a view, but you can do the same with shrubs, small trees, or even pieces of garden art. See other great arbor ideas.

Create a Small Backyard Destination The highlight of this small garden landscape is a firepit with welcoming chairs. Placing the seating spot just off a paved patio, as well as creating a secondary seating spot near the fence, helps the small backyard feel more spacious. See our pergola slideshow for more ideas!

We love this small yard landscaping idea: Place bold, bright colors in front of where you’ll view them. Because they catch your attention first, the rest of the small garden landscape beyond will seem to recede, helping it to feel larger.

Use Color Effectively We love this small yard landscaping idea: Place bold, bright colors in front of where you’ll view them. Because they catch your attention first, the rest of the small garden landscape beyond will seem to recede, helping it to feel larger. Discover more on using color in the garden.

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